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Citizen Involvement in Disaster Management
From the thesis abstract: "Responding and recovering from large scale disasters is extremely labor intensive. Unfortunately, a problem confronting all communities is inability to employ on a regular basis the large number of personnel needed to effectively manage large scale disasters. One possible solution to increase workforce capacity during times of critical need is for emergency managers to integrate a volunteer component into their existing disaster management plan. The federal government is assisting local communities with volunteer recruitment by nationally sponsoring Neighborhood Watch, Volunteers in Police Service, Medical Reserve Corps, Community Emergency Response Team and Fire Corps programs through county-wide Citizen Corps Councils. The acceptance of volunteers by paid responders can vary significantly from one community to another. The results of a 13 item questionnaire from 50 CERT volunteers from a metropolitan community, who had at least one previous experience working with paid responders during the recovery phase of a large scale disaster identified that 24 percent felt as if they were in the way, 20 percent felt as if they worked harder than the paid responders, 36 percent were given assignments that did not match their skill level or training, only 48 percent were tasked immediately and only 60 percent reported that paid responders were helpful. Encouraging is the fact that even though some experiences may have been less than optimal, 100 percent reported that they would feel comfortable working with the same responders during another event. In addition, two case studies are used to tell the story of CERT volunteers that assisted with the recovery phase after the 2004 hurricane season in Florida. Each case study concludes with a list of lessons learned that emergency managers can consider when planning for similar missions. Primary issues and courses of action are provided to assist community leaders with deciding whether or not volunteers should be integrated into their existing disaster management plans. If the decision is made to integrate volunteers, several recommendations are discussed to assist planners with developing implementation strategies to address the needs and concerns of both populations volunteers and paid responders."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security; Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Gonzalez, Michael M.
2005-09
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First Responder Readiness: A Systems Approach to Readiness Assessment Using Model Based Vulnerability Analysis Techniques
"This thesis reviews various tools used by military and civilian First Responders to assess unit readiness. Most civilian readiness assessment tools have fallen short of adequately predicting a response teams probability of mission success or failure. This thesis will explore the use of model based vulnerability analysis techniques and FT++ software as potential tools that could be adopted by the first response community to predict a units operational performance."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security; Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Mayer, Harry A.
2005-09
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Preventing Terror Attacks in the Homeland: A New Mission for State and Local Police
From the thesis abstract: "As the Department of Homeland Security continues to develop plans and strategies to guide our government agencies towards a safer environment, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies are struggling to define their role in the Homeland Security Mission. This paper proposes the creation of a National Law Enforcement Network made up of the state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies throughout the country. The network design will allow local agencies to reach beyond the traditional law enforcement approach by establishing formal networks that facilitate local, regional, national and eventually global coordination of an effective strategy aimed at preventing future terror attacks in the homeland. The creation of this network will ensure that every police officer in the United States understands their role in preventing future terror attacks. Drilling down to the lowest local level to include businesses, industry and the private sector, the formation of the network expands our detection and prevention capabilities well beyond our current level."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security; Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Lanier, Cathy L.
2005-09
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Homeland Security and Capabilities-Based Planning: Improving National Preparedness
"Beginning in 2004, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began to define and implement a national domestic all-hazards preparedness goal, intended to improve the nations preparedness for national catastrophes, including terrorist attacks. DHSs approach was capabilities-based planning (CBP), adopted from the Department of Defense (DoD). CPB is intended to develop the means"capabilities"for organizations to set priorities responding to a wide range of potential, but uncertain challenges and circumstances, mindful of issues of cost and sustainability. This thesis is intended to help officials better understand CBP and the factors important to its successful implementation. These factors range from setting out the business case for CBP adoption to necessary organizational and cultural enablers. In conclusion, the thesis recommends enhancing the CBP approach to national preparedness planning through integrating its approach with use of a national preparedness management standard, coverage of the mission areas of the National Strategy for Homeland Security, and encouraging performance partnership and collaborative methods."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security; Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Caudle, Sharon L.
2005-09
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From Rogue to Vogue: Why Did Libya Give up Its Weapons of Mass Destruction?
"This thesis analyzes Libya's historic 2003 decision to abandon its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs. In the two years following the decision, several theories have emerged to explain why the Libyan regime renounced these dangerous weapons. I use current literature and relevant sources to analyze the three most probable external causal factors: sanctions and diplomacy, intelligence, and coercive diplomacy. I find that sanctions, diplomacy and intelligence were significant in altering the Libyan cost-benefit analysis in favor of the West. These findings have political and theoretical implications. Lessons learned from the Libyan case will not be effective against Iran and North Korea due to differences between these countries proliferation motivation levels and the Libyan case. However, the influence strategies that were effective against Libya are likely to be applicable in other situations. I find that more research is still needed to identify the conditions when different strategies are most likely to be effective."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
McFall, Joseph D.
2005-09
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U.S. National Security Interests in Africa and the Future Global War on Terrorism (GWOT): A Proposal to Create an African Regional Combatant Command and a Regional African Special Operations Command
"The purpose of this thesis is to address the current need for a unified or sub-unified military regional combatant command headquarters within Africa. The United States needs such a command in order to protect U.S. national interests, provide a proactive forward deployed stance against the Global War On Terrorism (GWOT), and better execute crisis resource contingency operations throughout the entire continent of Africa. Thus, this thesis will argue that given the continued focus on the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), the United States should consider establishing a future political-military organization such as a unified or sub-unified African Regional Combatant Command (ARCC) and a Regional African Special Operations Command (RA-SOC) to both promote democratic initiatives and regional stability within the region, and to better assist and support U.S. national security interests by deterring and defeating international and regional terrorist networks well away from US borders. This newly proposed organization, at a minimum, should have a forward deployed political-military element positioned and located somewhere within the region of Sub-Saharan African. Specifically, this thesis will recommend that this proposed forward deployed regional headquarters should strategically be located within the sub-region of West Africa or East Africa."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Brown, Charles M.
2005-09
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Developing a Reliable Methodology for Assessing the Computer Network Operations Threat of Iran
"This thesis is part of a project at the Naval Postgraduate School to assess the Computer Network Operations (CNO)threat of foreign countries. CNO consists of Computer Network Attack (CNA), Computer Network Exploitation (CNE), and Computer Network Defense (CND). Threats to the nation's critical infrastructures come from an adversary using CNA and CNE to degrade, deny or destroy access to the information systems they depend upon. Defensive capabilities are also addressed since exploitation, attack, and defense are inherently related. The result of a successful cyber-attack upon these critical infrastructures has the potential to cripple a country's communications and other vital services, economic well-being, and defensive capabilities. The goal of this thesis is to develop a methodology for assessing the CNO threat of Iran. The methodology is based on open sources that can supplement classified information acquired by the intelligence community."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Patterson, Jason P.; Smith, Matthew N.
2005-09
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Optimizing the Long-Term Capacity Expansion and Protection of Iraqi Oil Infrastructure
"We introduce a tri-level defender-attacker-defender optimization model that prescribes how Iraq's oil infrastructure can, over time, be expanded, protected, and operated, even in the face of insurgent attacks. The outer-most defender model is a mixed-integer program that, given a set of anticipated insurgent attacks, specifies a quarterly capital expansion, defense, and operation plan to maximize oil exports over a decade-long planning horizon. The intermediate attacker model, observing the outer defender plans, is a mixed integer program that re-optimizes insurgent attacks to minimize export flow. The inner-most defender model is a linear program that re-directs flow in response to insurgent damage. We use open-source descriptions of current Iraqi oil infrastructure and reasonable estimates of the costs to expand capacity and/or defend operating assets, and reduce vulnerability to attacks. We solve this tri-level model by converting it into an equivalent bi-level one, and applying decomposition. For a range of scenarios, we determine the best allocation of effort between improving oil export infrastructure, and defending it."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Brown, Patrick S.
2005-09
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Evaluating Sunni Participation in an Election in a Representative Iraqi Town
"What we once thought of as purely civilian considerations are today increasingly significant matters to international peace and security. Conflicts within states and urban encounters make civilian considerations particularly troublesome for military forces sent to stabilize that country. Along with these changes in the patterns of war, the techniques that are used in operations have also changed. Stability operations are an application of military power to influence the political and civilian environment. Often these take the specific form of peacekeeping or peace support operations. Peace Support Operations (PSO) are military operations to support, provide and sustain a long-term political settlement. PSO and conventional war have different characteristics. It is possible to generalize the main purpose of conventional war as 'defeat the enemy,' whereas peacekeeping attempts to 'win the peace.' At tactical level, some of the goals of peacekeeping missions are to help and protect civilians, to avoid violence and escalation, and to ensure the safety of the public with civilians in a stability operation than in combat. Secondly, stability operations are executed in a more diverse range of environments than those of conventional war. Furthermore, depending upon the mandate, soldiers must use different sets of engagement rules when interacting with civilians."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Gun, Suat Kursat
2005-09
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Why Iran Proliferates
"Iran and the United States have faced each other across a deep divide ever since the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and the events of the American Embassy Hostage crisis. The absence of diplomatic relations between the two nations has led to a lack of communication which has resulted in difficulties crafting successful policies to build bridges between the two governments. The specter of Iran's quest for nuclear weapons casts a further pall on the troubled relations. Case studies of historical examples of nuclear proliferation using multi-causality can shed light on what factors are motivating Iran to seek nuclear weapons. Once these factors are understood, the United States can craft rational policies to pursue its goals in the Middle East while accommodating the probable rise of nuclear industry in Iran."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Farmer, Michael L.
2005-09
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Budgeting for National Defense Acquisition: Assessing System Linkage and the Impact of Transformation
"In this article we conduct a processual analysis (Barzelay, 2003; Barzelay & Gallego, 2005) to assess evidence and test the following hypothesis: the complicated architecture and processes of national defense planning, programming, budgeting and execution and the defense acquisition decision system lead to unintended and negative consequences for defense acquisition and procurement. The purpose of this article is to identify key points of linkage weakness or failure between DoD financial management and acquisition decision systems. We first describe the PPB system and decision process. We then provide an analysis of recent changes to PPB. Next, we describe the defense acquisition system (DAS) in detail. This leads us, by drawing on interview data, to identify systems linkages and areas of misalignment between the PPBES and the DAS. Finally, we provide conclusions with respect to our hypothesis, analysis of consequent key problems and issues, and areas that require further research."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
McCaffery, Jerry; Jones, Lawrence R.; Fierstine, Kory L.
2005-06-30
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Political Change in Europe and the Future of United States Military Presence in Germany
From the thesis abstract: "This thesis analyzes American basing structure in Germany, in a new political environment at the beginning of the 21st century. The end of the Cold War changed the political and strategic situation in Europe and the substance of American military presence in Europe. The War on Terrorism suggests that the current threats are dynamic and unpredictable and the idea of a permanent U.S. basing structure in the heart of Europe should be reconsidered. Specifically, this thesis describes the reasons for restructuring the large and expensive base structure in Germany and the impact of American withdrawal to the German society. Moreover, this thesis presents new challenges and opportunities for American military presence in other parts of European continent. Finally, this thesis reviews the development of U.S. policy concerning present and future base structure in Europe."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Zduniak, Pawel Piotr
2005-06
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Analysis of Communist Vietnamese Special Operations Forces During the Vietnam War and the Lessons that Can Be Applied to Current and Future U.S. Military Operations
From the thesis abstract: "This thesis examines the role of communist special operations forces during the Vietnam War and the relevancy of the lessons learned from these units. The United States military, specifically Army Special Forces, Rangers, and Navy SEALS, were not the only forces capable of conducting successful special operations during the conflict. The People's Army of Vietnam also had a highly organized, well trained, and well equipped organization capable of carrying out special operations. This organization was the sapper arm, and it was composed of three separate types of units. The Urban Sapper was concerned with intelligence gathering, terrorism, assassination, and special operations in the large urban areas such as Saigon and Hue. The Naval Sapper was responsible for attacking shipping, bridges, and bases located near waterways. The Field Sapper conducted operations against deployed US and South Vietnamese troops, trained other communist troops as sappers, and gave the communist leadership an elite force for lightning raids. The sapper force had certain operational principles, organizational constructs, and functional methods that set it apart from any other communist military element used during the Vietnam War."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Cloninger, James M., Jr.
2005-06
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Eagle, the Bear, and the Yurt: Evaluating Kyrgyzstan's Foreign Policy Behavior with the United States and Russia in the Post-9/11 Security Environment
From the thesis abstract: "The U.S.-led War on Terrorism necessitated engagement strategies with several small states. The policy motivations of small states, however, are often overlooked. Kyrgyzstan is an interesting case as it offered an airbase for the U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan, but also offered a similar arrangement to Russia. Thus, the motivation of the small state, Kyrgyzstan, is being evaluated in its engagement with two larger powers. This thesis argues that small state motivation revolves around how the state perceives the world it lives in. If the small state perceives a realist world, its behavior is commensurate with the capacity of small states in realist worlds. This leads to bandwagon behavior with larger powers, or balancing with larger powers against internal threats. If the small state views a complex interdependent world, then it uses what power it does have, like offering access to airbases, to leverage other benefits. Insight into small state perceptions allows U.S. policy makers to make realistic goals when formulating strategies with smaller countries. The data suggests Kyrgyzstan perceives itself to be in a moderate realist world, pursing policies to solidify its relationship with Russia while opportunistically reaping any short-term benefits from the United States."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Bernard, Andrew T.
2005-06
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NPS Cross-Campus Integrated Study: Maritime Domain Protection in the Straits of Malacca
NPS Systems Engineering and Analysis (SEA) students, in collaboration with students from the Temasek Defense Systems Institute in Singapore, presented this PowerPoint with results of their cross-campus integrated study on June 1-2, 2005 at NPS in Monterey, California. This study is focused on large ship and port security in the Port of Singapore and the nearby Straits of Malacca. The study focused on various system-of-systems architecture alternatives for countering threats to and from large ships in the Straits of Malacca, including sensor suites, communications, command and control, and reactive forces for a coalition of nations. The SEA team has also designed and assessed ship inspection architecture alternatives for detecting explosive and dangerous materials in order to prevent a large cargo ship from being used as a terrorist vehicle. Robotic systems are being considered as a component of this ship inspection system.
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
2005-06-01
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Role of the Ulama in Shiite Social Movements: Bahrain, Lebanon, and Iraq
"The Shiite ulama have become politically active in past decades, beginning in the 1960s-70s with the articulation of the new ideology that empowered the Iranian Revolution. Though a significant portion of the ulama retained their quietist [sic] tradition, enough felt motivated by wilayet e-faqih to become a major force in the political landscape. The ulama were particularly well suited to lead a successful social movement. Shiite tradition and symbology, once released from the bonds of quietism, were perfectly suited to motivate a struggle for justice. Despite the ulama's successful leadership, they are most influential when they are part of an underground opposition movement. The three case studies demonstrate that when movements reach a certain level of success, the ulama tend to retreat back to their studies. While many significant ulama continue to pay lip service to the wilayet e-faqih, many have also admitted that it is not practical in their country's particular circumstance. This is not to say that they are not influential, but that they prefer to let others perform daily political tasks. The scowling, turbaned 'alim is not necessarily the uncontrolled voice of radicalism bent upon founding an Islamic state."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Maynard, Brian P.
2005-06
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Integration of Mini-UAVS at the Tactical Operations Level: Implications of Operations, Implementation, and Information Sharing
From the thesis abstract: "Small units maneuvering on the battlefield have little time to establish data links and interface with the Global Information Grid (GIG) while trying to achieve an objective. The bandwidth and interface requirements necessary to receive live data from current strategic level systems limit the small unit operational user's ability to receive and act upon data and intelligence. Without the ability to interface with current strategic-level UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] assets, these small units are left without a comprehensive operational picture. Mini-UAVs offer the capability for the tactical user, in a variety of missions, to have direct control over the aerial asset without intervention from higher authority. Organic UAV assets can be used to collect data relevant to small units without the need for connecting to intelligence systems. This offers increased mobility and a dedicated collection platform; however, there are still drawbacks to this capability. This thesis examines mini-UAVs, and their integration into the Coalition Operating Area Surveillance and Targeting System (COASTS) network."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Crouch, Collier Craig
2005-06
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Emerging Threats and the War on Terrorism: The Formation of Radical Islamist Movements in Sub-Saharan Africa
"Determining the conditions that lead to the formation of radical Islamist groups will help analysts and policymakers prioritize countries within sub-Saharan Africa that may need monitoring to prevent the onset of indigenous terrorism. This thesis attempts to produce knowledge toward that end by determining causal variables hypothesized to be associated with radical Islamist group formation through inductive analysis. A narrative describing the formation of a known Islamist movement in Nigeria is compared against a narrative describing the conditions in Zanzibar, where radical groups have yet to emerge given different structural conditions. The goal of the thesis is to try and generate an initial understanding of the underlying conditions that cause radical group formation to help tailor U.S. policy goals toward fighting radical Islamist group emergence through prevention."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Calabrese, Maurizio D.
2005-06
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IPSEC-Based Dynamic Security Services for the MYSEA Environment
"It is recognized that security services in information-processing systems require access to finite resources in the execution of their duties. In response to the changing threats faced by a system and/or the availability of system resources, it is desired that the system be able to adjust its operational security policies automatically while continuing to function under an acceptable global security policy. This work involves the analysis and integration of a dynamic security service (DSS)-enabled IPsec implementation into a form ready for installation into the MYSEA environment. The feasibility of dynamic security services is demonstrated with support for secrecy and/or integrity protection of MLS server-to-end-user communication via a Trusted Path Extension. This is accomplished through the modulation of the IPsec security associations to adapt to operational needs. The result of this research is beneficial to Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and the intelligence community by enabling remote distributed computing clients to operate in a secure manner that remains flexible to adapt to changing requirements of protection on the network and the availability of resources on terminating hosts. Furthermore, these methods can aid the realization of high-assurance edge-client connectivity in the creation and extension of the Global Information Grid (GIG)."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Horn, John F.
2005-06
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Durand Line: South Asia's Next Trouble Spot
"The Durand Line, the western border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, was delineated in 1893 as the boundary between then British India and Afghanistan. The international community recognizes the Durand line as the Pak-Afghan border since the creation of Pakistan in 1947, but successive Afghan rulers have repudiated its legitimacy. This dispute has caused turbulence in relations between these countries and instigates greater problems with regard to the Pashtun nationalism. The Durand Line has remained porous due to the nature of tribal cultures and the socio-economic compulsions of the people living along the Durand line. The Durand Line was exploited to launch the Afghan Jihad against the Soviets in the 1980s. The GWOT in Afghanistan has once again brought misperceptions regarding alignment, and the porous nature of the Durand Line to the lime light. This thesis demonstrates that existing combat operations against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban and the exploitation of the Durand Line by the U.S.-led coalition forces, had a destabilizing effect on Pakistan, due to the autonomous nature of tribal areas and Pakistan's necessity to extend its authority in tribal areas while supporting the GWOT. This thesis recommends that a clear understanding of the Durand Line as an international border by all concerned states will enhance the coordination of operations at all tiers, and thereby prevent this border from becoming South Asia's next trouble spot."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Mahmood, Tariq
2005-06
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United States and Russian Cooperation on Issues of Nuclear Nonproliferation
"This thesis summarizes and analyzes the key factors in the cooperative U.S.-Russian effort, pre- and post- 9/11, to prevent nuclear proliferation. Especially highlighted are pertinent efforts to prevent terrorist organizations from obtaining nuclear weapons or nuclear weapons capabilities. This thesis catalogues both, Russian and the U.S. successes and failures to prevent nuclear proliferation through administration policies, as well as, the various cooperative threat reduction measures employed in coordination with the nations that once composed the former Soviet Union. Finally, this thesis offers a prediction of what the near future will hold for threat reduction and arms elimination programs."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Speer, Daniel Petersen
2005-06
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Two-Sided Optimization of Border Patrol Interdiction
"The United States Border Patrol (USBP) is responsible for interdicting unauthorized entry into the U.S. The USBP must decide how to allocate its detection and interdiction assets to maximize the probability of catching illegal aliens along the border. We study the case where an infiltrator can observe USBP preparations, and then choose a path into the U.S. We define the infiltrator's courses of actions to maximize the probability of escape, and then express the USPB's courses of actions to minimize that maximum achievable probability of escape. This case applies especially well to a signal entry, e.g. a well-planned, one-time smuggling of a weapon of mass destruction. We solve a sample problem for the U.S-Mexican border near Yuma, Arizona."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Pulat, Halil
2005-06
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Pakistan's Afghanistan Policy
"Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have remained estranged mainly due to Afghanistan's revanchist claim made about Pakistan's western province and its non-recognition of the Durand Line as the international border. With a hostile India to the East, Pakistan can ill-afford another irredentist neighbor. Since 1947 both countries have interfered in each others domestic affairs. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan forced Pakistan to wage a proxy war in Afghanistan, garnering the support of Western and Arab allies. Since the end of Cold war, Pakistan continued its forward policy in Afghanistan through support of Taliban. Its prime security interest in Afghanistan remains having a friendly government in Kabul. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Pakistan abandoned support of Taliban and joined the U.S.-led coalition to destroy the Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Once again, Pakistan encountered a deep-seated hostility, this time from the Northern Alliance, which dominates the new power structure in Kabul. Skepticism and fear remain as both countries move cautiously to revitalize bilateral ties. This thesis analyzes Pakistan's Afghanistan policy from 1947 to 2001. It recommends Pakistan's effective engagement with Afghanistan. While Pakistan protects its legitimate security interests, it must refrain from actively interfering in Afghanistan's political future. The thesis will also recommends that the United States should substantively remain engaged in Afghanistan to stabilize the region, assist with the reconstruction of Afghanistan, ensure non interference of regional actors, and finally and most importantly help settle the Durand Line issue once and for all."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Hussain, Khawar
2005-06
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Islamic Insurgency and Transnational Terrorism in Thailand: Analysis and Recommended Solution Strategy
"The purpose of this thesis is to provide a history and analysis of the Islamic insurgency and transnational terrorist operations that exist in Thailand today. Secondly, this thesis will highlight current Thai, US, and regional security initiatives and underscore policy deficiencies. Finally, this thesis will recommend a solution strategy necessary for the purging of radical Islamic insurgency and transnational terrorism from Thailand. By accepting current policy deficiencies and implementing the courses of action recommended in this thesis, the US and Thailand will both contribute to a greater Southeast Asian security."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Lumbaca, Jeremiah C.
2005-06
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Naval Mines in the 21st Century: Can NATO Navies Meet the Challenge?
"With the end of the Cold War, NATO countries have embarked on transformation initiatives within their militaries to address the new security realities of the 21st century. One of the realities that has not changed is the threat posed to modern navies by sea mines. Global proliferation of sea mines, both older variants and advanced designs, has continued to grow and presents a unique challenge to maritime security for NATO. As NATO forces engage in more expeditionary operations, they must be prepared to counter the danger posed by mines from state and non-state actors. This includes ensuring that vital sea lines of communication (SLOCS), strategic chokepoints throughout the world, commercial ports and naval bases remain open and uncontested. In order to meet the challenge of the 21st century mine threat, NATO must continue to develop balanced MCM capabilities that satisfy expeditionary requirements (such as OMCM for in-stride operations) while maintaining effective dedicated forces to conduct sustained MCM operations against more traditional mining operations."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Rios, John J.
2005-06
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Fourth Generation War: Paradigm for Change
"The thesis has two hypotheses. Hypothesis One states that heavy armor/artillery based armies should give way to infantry based armies. Hypothesis Two states that the military doctrine of these infantry based armies should be based on UW. Chapter II explains and amplifies 4GW. Chapter III examines the relationship between terrorism and 4GW, and the moral and ethical issues of 4GW that are at cross-purposes to conventional war. Chapter IV studies the impact of 4GW on the Principles of War and suggests how these principles should evolve to be effectively utilized in 4GW. Chapter V examines whether Special Forces (SF) are the panacea for 4GW. Chapter VI details the organizational aspects of SF, including their limitations. Chapter VII looks at the changes required in the Army to fight in a 4GW environment, including changes in doctrine, organization, equipment and training. Chapter VIII provides recommendations for successfully charting a course for the future."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Katoch, Ghanshyam Singh
2005-06
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Rethinking Global Engagement: The Requirement for Knowledge before Action
"The type of engagement necessary for US security is not compatible with the interests of today's US SOF. America requires a Global Engagement Plan (GEP) that is unprecedented in its patience and persistence, and that maintains a diffuse presence everywhere on the planet. Such a plan envisions and necessitates deliberate, intimate, and continuous American contact with sizeable segments of the world's population--the predominantly non-elite majority that is inadequately observed and reported on by extant instruments of American power. Operatives tasked with executing the GEP would be permanently immersed in the host environment, taking a U.S. Army Special Forces (SF) mantra to 'operate by, with, and through indigenous forces and peoples' to an extreme. Current American governmental structures and methods of foreign engagement are unequal to such a task. America already has a force whose mission includes acting as 'global scouts': SF. Nevertheless, the traditional method of SF employment is inadequate to providing such deliberate, intimate, and continuous observation and reporting. A better method of global engagement can be found in both a Regional Engagement Concept (REC) for (military) soldiers, and a proposed Global Engagement Agency within the Department of State for (civilian) operatives. Retired and/or transitioned SF soldiers provide an ideal nucleus for the forming of such an agency."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Hasler, Jeffrey L.
2005-06
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Principles of War: Are They Still Applicable?
"The purpose of this thesis is to examine the principles of war as derived from the teachings of Baron Antoine Henri de Jomini and analyze them in terms of their continued applicability. This thesis looks at the complex nature of conflict in the 21st century, as well as the rise of unconventional warfare in recent years, and how significant changes in the overall realm of combat may be diminishing the relative importance of the nine principles of war utilized by the United States military for almost two centuries. The main objective of this study is to determine whether the traditionally accepted principles of war have become less applicable, and if so, to recommend new principles that could potentially be more appropriate for U.S. forces when developing new doctrine, strategy, tactics, and organizational structures. [...] Finally, a discussion of principles of war as formulated by Sun Tzu serves as a basis on which to compare and contrast Jomini's teachings with those of another great military thinker whose notions regarding the art of warfare may provide a more suitable paradigm upon which to construct a new version of the modern principles of war."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Ettrich, Brian B.
2005-06
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21st Century Terrorism: Wrong Diagnosis, Inadequate Remedy
"From the early 1990s, and especially since September 11, 2001, numerous scholars, politicians and political analysts alike have characterized terrorism as global, religious, irrational and rising. The theory of the emergence of this 'new terrorism' is well established and can be considered as conventional wisdom. The main characteristics of the 'old terrorism', its political, local and rational character, are obsolete in accordance with this line of thinking. In particular, Al Qaeda is thought to be an enemy worth changing the National Security Strategy of the United States and even suspending some civil not to mention human rights. However, the decline or disappearance of many prominent terrorist figures or entire groups have been ironically overlooked, or selectively ignored as irrelevant to the 'new' terrorism. This thesis challenges the aforementioned common knowledge and suggests that the 'new terrorism' has very few if any differences from the 'old' one. It remains a purely political, mainly local and definitely rational activity in a steady or declining stage."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Kyriakidis, Kleanthis
2005-06
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Transforming the American Solider: Educating the Warrior-Diplomat
"In this thesis, we examine the current levels of cultural understanding and irregular warfare being taught in U.S. Army conventional military schools. Given engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is our view that the military needs a deeper understanding of the indigenous people due to the extremely close and on-going interaction between American Soldiers and the local populations. Current analysis of the difficulties being reported suggests U.S. Army Soldiers are having trouble combating irregular warfare due to cultural misunderstandings and a lack of counter-insurgency training, thereby reflecting a likely educational gap in the U.S. Army's formal military educational training system. This thesis analyzes the current problems and difficulties Soldiers are reported to be having while attempting to combat irregular forces in non-western environments. We analyze the amount of training U.S. Army Soldiers receive in cultural understanding and irregular warfare in the military schools pipeline and conclude that there is a connection between problems Soldiers currently face and a lack of training for the conduct of operations in foreign countries. We propose a number of solutions to overcome these suspected gaps in education and suggested changes to the Army's professional education curriculum."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Hudson, Jeff D.
2005-06
